Crew and Mastery Points Guide

When unlocking Crew the first time after clearing sector 50, you will get an access to a powerful mechanics that will multiply most resource gains if used correctly. We will divide this Crew and Mastery guide in several parts for easier understanding.

Crew

You will start with a single available crew member - Energy Technician. As you progress the game more Crew members will be unlocked, and you will be able to use multiple Crew at the same time.

But for now, let's cover the basics.

Crew Exp

Crew get exp when enemy is being destroyed. Each crew member has 2 out of 4 available stats. Main one at the top and secondary right below it. Main stat is way easier to level up, so it's normal that second stat might lag behind.

When you retire the Crew member, it will save its highest stat level reached and it will be used as a multiplier for the exp gained for that stat. It's being shown in the brackets. Your goal will be trying to get it as high as possible for easier growth in the future.

The highest current stat will govern the Crew member Rank. Ranking up awards Rank points that can be distributed on the Crew Skills. Most of the skills scale with specific stats and their level which may lead to very powerful multipliers.

Crew XP Bonus based on the highest level is 1.05 to the power of said level, as in each level you get, you will gain XP 5% faster the next time you reprint them.

Base XP per wave for Sectors 1 through 50 are equal to the sector number divided by 100 (so 0.01 for Sector 1, through to 0.5 for Sector 50), while from Sector 51 onwards, the base XP would be (1+x)*3(s-51) [where x is the percentage through the sector you've traveled, and s is the sector number]

Mastery

Masteries should be your primary focus early on. Masteries multiply your gained XP significantly, allowing for further pushes and higher total Stat and Rank levels, meaning many more upgrades.

Mastery Upgrades cannot be reset and it's important to properly allocate mastery points to ensure faster growth.

Here is a recommended order of Mastery Upgrades:

1. Sleeve Storage Mastery (+3 Starting Biosleeves)
2. Acumen Mastery (Acumen XP Gain Multiplier x30)
3. Ingenuity Mastery (Ingenuity XP Gain Multiplier x30)
4. Proficiency Mastery (Proficiency XP Gain Multiplier x30)
5. Engineering Mastery (Engineering XP Gain Multiplier x30)
6. Warp Mastery (Warp Essence Gain Multiplier x5, Warp Cores +4)
7. Base Mastery (Base 1-4 Production Multiplier x10)
8. Crew Max Mastery (Maximum Active Crew +1)

Then choose 2 between:

• Shard Link Mastery (Max Shard Links +1)
• Reactor Mastery (Max Void Power x50, Void Power Generation x50)
• Compute Mastery (Compute Power x20, Compute Speed x10, Compute Levels Gained x1.5)

And finally, choose 1 between:

• Sleeve Generation Mastery (Bio Sleeve Generation Speed x2)
• Resource Mastery (Salvage Amount Multiplier x40, Void Matter Drop Amount x20)

These upgrades are quite weak, get them in any order after you finish all previous upgrades and have leftover mastery points:

• Synth Mastery (Synth Speed x5)
• Research Mastery (Focused research bonus now applies to all research and all unbounds are selected, Bonus to Research x10)
• Module Mastery (Active Module Slots +1)

Here is a writeup from the official Discord if you want details on why each option is recommended(This guide was made before the sector 69+ content, outdated parts have been crossed out. Mastery 3 should be done around sector 86-90+, depending on how active you are):

Your first mastery will be +3 Starting Biosleeves, followed by the 30x Masteries in the following order: Acumen, Ingenuity, Proficiency, and Engineering.

Why choose +3 Biosleeves instead of 30x XP? It may seem like a trap, but here's the deal: 30x XP translates to roughly 21 extra levels in a main stat or only 10 in a secondary stat. While it's undoubtedly useful, it doesn't hold up to the significance of extra biosleeves. If you can achieve 31 stat levels with a biosleeve, it's already more valuable than 30x XP, considering your goal is to maximize mastery levels.

Attaining a mastery on your initial run is quite challenging and probably not feasible. Instead, focus on reaching the highest possible level with the biosleeves you start with. It may take one or two resets before you can achieve a sufficiently high level – You’re aiming for 85 stat levels with a single sleeve before retiring.

Your first mastery will come from either the Energy Technician or the Cyber Specialist since they require the fewest leveling requirements. Both options work, but the Energy Technician is slightly faster, having a roughly 5 level lead.

Once you consistently achieve around 85 levels per Biosleeve, you can obtain your first mastery within a single day by utilizing your starting 3 biosleeves and the ones generated at 3, 6, and 12 hours. If you choose to wait a bit further for your 7th biosleeve, you need only about 72 levels. Your first mastery should be +3 Starting Biosleeves.

The next few mastery points come quickly, requiring only one run each, even when starting with a new crewmember from scratch until your 6th crewmember. By having +3 Starting Biosleeves, you can instantly earn your second mastery point with either the Cyber Specialist or the Energy Technician your very next reset. Your second mastery point should be 30x Acumen XP, which will make it much easier to achieve mastery with the Researcher.

After obtaining the mastery point with the Researcher, you should invest in 30x Ingenuity XP. Similar to the Researcher, this will facilitate achieving the first mastery for the Materials Engineer. Continue maximizing your max stat level with other crewmembers if you have available crew slots and extra biosleeves at the end of a Mastery run.

Use the fourth mastery point earned from the Materials Engineer to acquire 30x Proficiency XP, allowing a Mastery in the Logistics Manager. Likewise, the Mastery Point obtained from the Logistics Manager should be used to obtain the final 30x XP upgrade for Engineering. At this point, you will have acquired all the 30x XP upgrades. Hooray! Subsequent runs should focus on increasing your Rank and Total Stat as much as possible with the masteries you possess to reach Savant (the level Stat 300 Upgrade) and unlock extra XP upgrades. Starting with the Xeno Phenomenologist, leveling becomes slower due to the higher starting XP scale. However, remember that the first mastery for every crewmember remains the fastest and should be obtained as soon as they are unlocked. Prioritize raising Acumen to a high level since it also provides an XP multiplier for every crewmember.

After utilizing your initial 5 Mastery points, your focus should shift towards the Base Mastery and Warp Mastery upgrades. These upgrades are the most beneficial choices since Warp offers the XP upgrades required to pursue Mastery 2 with your crewmembers, as well as a whole sleuth of additional upgrades that benefit run time and distance reached, among other things.

Currently, only masteries up to Mastery 2 are realistically attainable in a reasonable time frame. The Mastery 3 requirement of reaching level 50,000 would necessitate waiting for over a month to acquire enough biosleeves. Therefore, we will concentrate solely on the first 2 masteries for each crewmember.

Don't forget to occasionally do non-mastery runs to improve other stats like research, synth, and warp. These stats are crucial for advancing to higher distances and earning additional XP multipliers based on the distance reached. By this point, you should have already unlocked the 7th crewmember, the Industrial Engineer, and obtained the 7th mastery point with them. Additionally, you should be starting your runs with 9 biosleeves due to total Rank upgrades. Now you can begin farming for Mastery 2 with your initial crewmembers.

Mastery 2 enables you to significantly increase rank and total stat levels, which will be vital for unlocking the 8th and final crewmember and obtaining even more XP multiplier upgrades, speeding the process up significantly.

During your Mastery runs for Mastery 2, your sole focus should be on reaching the next mastery level. It is possible to dip into the Logistics Manager to benefit from the Salvage bonus, so you can purchase additional XP Multipliers, and expedite the runs. When achieving around 460 stat levels per biosleeve, you can reliably earn your second Mastery point with a crewmember in a single day, provided you use the Logistics Manager to speed up the process. If you're focusing on a single crewmember without using the Logistics Manager, only approximately 420 stat levels are needed.

Once again, follow the order in which the crewmembers were unlocked. The initially unlocked crewmembers are the easiest to level, as they have the lowest base XP requirements. Your next purchase should be +1 Active Crewmember. With the slots from Total Rank upgrades, this allows for a 4th and final active crewmember, which allows for more combinations of bonuses during non-mastery runs.

Progress through the crewmembers accordingly and enjoy your Masteries! Note: Reaching Mastery 3 is a time-consuming endeavor due to the immense level requirements. However, with Mastery 2 achieved in all 8 crewmembers, you will have a total of 16 Mastery points at your disposal. Allocate 11 of these points as described (including +3 Biosleeves, 30x XP for each of Acumen, Ingenuity, Proficiency, and Engineering in order, Warp Mastery, Base Mastery and +1 Active Crewmember) to maximize your progress speed.

This will leave you with 5 remaining points. Determining the best Masteries to invest in with these points is uncertain due to the end of available content so far. Therefore, it becomes a matter of personal preference. Purchase whatever you believe suits you best and will allow for the most progress. However, I recommend considering +1 module slot and +1 shard link for future-proofing purposes, as recommended by other members of the server, as these allow for yet more combinations of upgrades.

TL;DR:

• After unlocking crew, Focus on masteries
• Start with +3 Starting Biosleeves Mastery, followed by 30x XP Masteries in this order: Acumen, Ingenuity, Proficiency, and Engineering
• Aim for 85 stat levels with a single sleeve before retiring
• First mastery should come from Energy Technician or Cyber Specialist
• Obtain +3 Starting Biosleeves as the first mastery
• Subsequent masteries come in quickly, prioritize Acumen XP first and unlock masteries for other crewmembers, working down in the order they are unlocked.
• After initial 5 Mastery points, focus on Base Mastery and Warp Mastery upgrades
• Occasionally do non-mastery runs to improve other stats
• Unlock 7th crewmember and obtain 7th mastery point, Start farming for Mastery 2 with initial crewmembers after you do so
• You may use Logistics Manager's Salvage bonus for faster runs
• Follow crewmembers' unlocking order and purchase +1 Active Crewmember
• Reaching Mastery 3 is time-consuming, focus on Mastery 2 with all 8 crewmembers
• Use remaining 5 points based on personal preference. Consider +1 module slot and +1 shard link for future-proofing.

Mastery 4+

Major Spoilers for ~R3+ (click here to dismiss)

from discord pins, currently a placeholder. Things may change after R5 comes out.

S tier:

• Overdrive Mastery (Max Overdrives Charging +1)
• Research Datacore Mastery (Data Core Exponent +1)
• Rank Delay Mastery (Rank Scaling Delay +3)
• Primary Stat Level Delay Mastery (Primary Stat Scaling Mastery +25)

A tier:

• Fixture Mastery (Fixture Creation Speed x4)
• Base Mastery (Base 1-4 Production Multiplier x50, Base 5 Production Multiplier x20)

B tier:

• Engineering/Acumen/Proficiency/Ingenuity Level Delay Mastery (Engineering/Acumen/Proficiency/Ingenuity Stat Scaling Delay +25)
• Secondary Stat Level Delay Mastery (Secondary Stat Scaling Delay +15)
• Crew Max Mastery (Maximum Active Crew +1)

C tier?:

• Shard Link Mastery (Max Shard Links +1)

Situational, might not be worth:

• Synth Mastery (Synth Speed x5)

Currently not useful:

• Compute Spec Mastery (Compute Tiers per Spec Point -2)
• Module Mastery (Active Module Slots +1)